Entertainment

Why Your Non-Profit Needs to Stop Ignoring LinkedIn

J. Kevin Wolfe is Social Instigator for DonorDrive Fundraising Software.

A non-profit on LinkedIn is a bit of an oxymoron. As the world's most popular business networking site, it wasn't long ago that LinkedIn was no place for a charity. But recently, LinkedIn has seen the value in causes. Users can now add causes they support to their profile. This charitable online identity is something that employers and peers are starting to use as an indicator of personal integrity.

It's logical that you'd want to get your non-profit listed as one of these profile options, and now is the best time yet to put your non-profit on LinkedIn. Here's why.

The Importance of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is no longer just a place to post your resume and look for a job. It's become a vital business tool for professionals and companies. Forrester Research recently ranked LinkedIn as the second largest social network behind Facebook. That's a lot of potential audience going to waste.

In many ways, starting your non-profit's company page on LinkedIn legitimizes your charity with professionals and corporations.

What's In It for You?

LinkedIn now allows charities to list themselves just like businesses do. As a matter of fact, you can add your non-profit the exact same way you'd add a company. The benefits of creating a non-profit company page on LinkedIn include:

Putting your non-profit in front of new donors: The LinkedIn user may not play in other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Maximize the amount of people you can reach.

Connecting corporate donors to your cause: Once your cause is listed, key players at corporations who donate to you will likely want to show their support by following your non-profit. This gives your non-profit clout, spurs popularity and can lead to further donations and involvement.

A new social channel and new opportunities: LinkedIn is sometimes ignored as a social media powerhouse when compared to Facebook or Twitter, but that assumption is incorrect. You may find LinkedIn offers your non-profit more viable communication channels than any other social media service. Since this audience is comprised of a driven group of professionals, not just the public at large, it's a worthwhile group of engaged users for you to court.

How To Put Your Non-Profit on LinkedIn

Signing up your non-profit on LinkedIn is a relatively straight-forward affair, but there are some best practices and tips you should follow:

Have an official email address: Non-profits sometimes forgo having an official email, instead using individual staff use their personals email address. This won't fly for getting listed on LinkedIn. To list your non-profit, they require that you have an email address tied to your non-profit's domain. Many domain services offer free email as part of your annual registration fee.

Go to LinkedIn's Company Pages and Add a Company: You'll have a choice of claiming your company's page (if it already exists) or adding it yourself.

Build your company page: Remember, this is an official presence for business people so you should keep it as professional and complete as possible. Add your logo, include search terms in your description, put yourself in the correct category and link to your website. LinkedIn allows lets you connect to Twitter, show your blog posts, etc., so take advantage of all of LinkedIn's social features.

Follow your non-profit: Have all your staff follow your cause. There's a Follow button on your company page that makes this easy. Having your team follow you not only shows solidarity but makes it easy for viewers to find and connect with your team.

Share your non-profit: The share button on your non-profit's page is a powerful broadcast tool. Click it and you can tweet, post LinkedIn updates, post to LinkedIn groups, or send content to individuals from your Contacts list. Encourage those you're connected with to follow your non-profit and add it to causes they support in their own profile.

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